Andy and the Lion is an adaptation of the story of Androcles and lion from Aulus Gellius’s second century Attic Nights.  In Gellius’s story, Androcles is a North African slave boy who befriends a lion while hiding in a cave; he extracts a thorn from the lion’s paw and the two become great friends.  The boy and the lion share the cave for three years, with the lion giving the boy meat from his prey.  When the boy finally leaves the cave, he is captured, sent to Rome and to his death at the Circus Maximus.  The lion sent to kill him is indeed the same lion from the den.  The lion remembers the boy and – in friendship and loyalty—shows him only affection.  Such a display of love impresses the emperor, who frees the boy and gifts him with the lion.

The setting of Andy and the Lion is rural, turn of the last century America.  Andy is a little boy who encounters a lion on the way to school.  The lion does not maim our little friend; rather, he seeks help extracting a thorn from his paw.  Andy obliges, forming a bond of friendship.  When the same lion escapes from his circus cage, threatened spectators scurry to take up arms against the beast.  But Andy recognizes his old friendly leo, and the two dance with joy, as does the entire town.  The mayor awards Andy with a medal for bravery with his lion looking proudly on.  The story end with Andy and his lion walking to the local library.

This is a sweet, lovely picture book.  Written in 1938, the book looks further back to a time of simplicity and comfort.  Andy washes his hands before supper in a basin outside the back porch, he walks to school with his books strapped with leather; the adults wear hats, the children are barefoot.  The illustrations, moreover, are warm ink drawings, colored with mustard yellows, reminding us of lions everywhere.  I loved this book as a child. I remember coming across the story of Androcles in Gellius as a young adult and thinking about all those glorious illustrations. – Sarah Klitenic Wear